Browsed byMonth: August 2017

The house I grew up in was a Cape Cod with 2 bedrooms downstairs and an upstairs that had been converted into a kind of apartment. We never really had a tenant that lived there. It was mostly for family members that would come and stay if they needed to. What’s funny is that I always thought that upstairs had a ghost when I was young, and my children ended up getting the same vibe whenever they were at my parents’ house. But I digress; I’ll get back to today’s story. Since my …

People often ask me how I come up with my blogs posts. Sometimes it’s a well-planned, well-researched kind of thing. Other times it’s a moment of inspiration or it’s a reflection of my thoughts about something emotional, whether happy or sad. Often sad – I know, I know. When it comes to Monday Classics, I’ll usually look through some of my books and wait for something to tug at my interest. This week a friend posted an article about a Clover Club on my Facebook wall and made …

I’m just letting you all know that I had the opportunity to take a last minute, unexpected vacation with my family this week, so I will return next Monday with new posts. In celebration of today’s eclipse, I thought I’d repost my Illuminate Me cocktail, which will always be one of my very favorites. I reflect on the ideas in this post quite often; cocktails and suffering over love and loss go hand in hand for me. The eclipse has given me some new insight and I’ve added it in. See you all next week! …

The other day I came across a quote by Johnny Cash in which he was asked for his description of paradise, to which he answered “This morning, with her, having coffee.” I fell in love with the quote the moment I saw it and almost immediately posted it on my Instagram. He was speaking, of course, about his wife, June Carter Cash. Something about the image of the two of them having coffee together, and the fact that he attached such significance to it, truly warmed my heart. It made me …

The last house that we lived in had an in-ground pool in the back yard that became the focus of many summer celebrations and gatherings over the years that we lived there. It was a wonderful thing to have, especially with 3 kids, since it meant there was no need to pack up the car and drive anywhere. We could simply wander outside whenever we wanted to, and then back inside again for lunch and a nap. There was a huge deck that overlooked the pool, and we planted lots of flowers in built-in boxes …